The Fight
Recap When MacLaren's bartender Doug Martin catches the gang not sitting in their normal booth, he gets pretty angry. Loyal to his regulars, Doug provokes a fight when the guys sitting in the booth and asks Ted, Barney and Marshall to back him up. Marshall says there is nothing noble about fighting; he has gotten into plenty of fights with his brothers. Ted and Barney mock Marshall's playful horseplay in his family. Ted decides he has never been in a fight heads out, Barney in tow. Barney sees it a chance to impress Robin. However, they find that Doug has dispatched the three men on his own. Doug doesn't realize that Ted and Barney didn't help him. Barney convinces Ted to keep quiet about the two of them missing the fight and even punches Ted and then himself in the face to cover up their non-involvement. Doug offers everyone but Marshall free drinks and excitedly tells everyone how Ted and Barney had his back. They revel in the attention, especially Barney who is particularly interested in the affections of Robin who is very impressed. Meanwhile, Marshall maintains that he has taken the high road, but Ted, Barney and Robin mock him for being unmanly. That night in bed, Lily confirms that Marshall did the right thing and asks him to come give a talk to her class about not fighting. However, even Lily's students mock him for not fighting. Back in the bar, Ted and Barney regale the story of the fight to a couple of girls. However, seeing a few guys sitting in the booth again, they find they may have to start a second fight. Fortunately, the two guys have heard of the two: they are there to serve them a summons. The guys they "beat up" are suing for assault. Ted and Barney immediately go to consult their lawyer: Marshall. Marshall exaggerates the punishment for such an offense and they admit that Doug was the only one involved in the fight. Marshall takes great pleasure in telling Robin about how Barney was leading them on. Later, Marshall tells the gang about how he convinced the guys they "beat up" to drop the charges by explaining how unmanly Ted and Barney really are. However, this means that Doug now knows that Ted and Barney "threw him under a bus". Out in the alley behind the bar, Doug confronts Barney and Ted. Barney runs away in fear. Marshall points out it was obvious that Ted didn't help in the fight. Doug understands that it was just him in the fight but is hurt that Ted and Barney didn't have his back. He insults Ted by saying, "no wonder your fiancée left you." Ted punches him. Having never been in a fight before, Ted didn't realize how much he would hurt his hand by punching Doug in the face. Doug punches Ted right back and knocks him out. Ted has learned his lesson. He would later explain to both his own kids and Lily's class about he learned that one should never get in a fight. Of course, Ted leaves out part of the story: After punching out Ted, Doug was himself punched out—by Marshall. Turns out that Marshall did a little more than roughhouse with his brothers. Their fights were bloody and violent including smashing furniture and throwing hot chocolate in each other's faces. Future Ted suggests that his kids never get on Marshall's bad side. Continuity *In Sweet Taste of Liberty, Marshall has a spat with a gay guy dabbing a grape stain off of Lily's bottoms. He exclaims how he's "never been in a fight before." Unfortunately, this breaks the continuity in this episode seeing as he's had been in plenty of fights with his brothers. **However, Marshall's statement could still hold truth if he intends it to mean a fight with an unknown person. *In , while Ted is helping Marshall stuff envelopes for his and Lily's wedding, Marshall promises Ted he would have his back if he got in a fight. *In a flashback to Ted's college years, Ted and Marshall are again seen "eating a sandwich", the show's term for smoking marijuana. This is first shown in . *Several scenes from the show's history (including the , and ) are recreated with Doug in the background to show that he, as Future Ted says, was always around. *In the Thanksgiving scene set 3-5 years later at the Eriksen dinner table, Marshall's father is nowhere to be seen, possibly foreshadowing the events of . **The Eriksen Family seven-layer salad (that Lily was seen working on in ) can be seen in the depiction of Thanksgiving at the Eriksens. Gallery TheFight1.png|Doug asks the guys to help him fight some guys. TheFight2.png|Recalling his horrible year, Ted agrees to fight. TheFight3.png|Robin finds fighting very hot. TheFight4.png|Barney agrees to fight to impress Robin. TheFight5.png|Barney and Ted go outside, but Doug's already fought them all. TheFight6.png|Doug blacked out while fighting, and thinks Barney and Ted helped him fight. TheFight7.png|Barney and Ted hit each other to make it look like they were part of the fight. TheFight8.png|Barney and Ted are congratulated by people in MacLaren's Bar. TheFight9.png|Robin flirts with black-eyed and suddenly sexy Barney. TheFight10.png|Everyone teases Marshall for not fighting. TheFight11.png|Marshall hates people questioning his manliness. TheFight12.png|Barney and Ted flirt with girls at MacLaren's Bar. TheFight13.png|Barney and Ted get sued for fighting. TheFight14.png|Barney and Ted ask Marshall for legal advice. TheFight15.png|Marshall lies and tells them they could get serious jail time. TheFight16.png|Barney and Ted come clean; they didn't really fight. TheFight17.png|Robin starts flirting with Barney; Marshall tells her they faked the fight. TheFight18.png|Robin comes up with a bad excuse to leave and slowly walks away. TheFight19.png|Marshall tells Barney and Ted they're no longer being sued. TheFight20.png|They realise that because of them, angry Doug is now being sued instead. TheFight21.png|Doug confronts the gang and insults Ted. TheFight22.png|Ted punches Doug. TheFight23.png|Doug hits him back in retaliation. TheFight24.png|Marshall steps in and knocks out Doug. TheFight25.png|Future Ted tells his kids never to fight, as Doug serves beers to the gang. :For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:The Fight images Memorable Quotes Robin: There are plenty of legitimate reasons to get in a fight. It might not be pretty, but in certain situations you gotta do what you gotta do. Ted: Right, I forgot, she thinks fighting is sexy. Robin: No, I do not... a lot! Look, I come from a culture of hockey players. If a guy can throw down it's somewhat way hot. And scars? Hello! If a guy's got a scar, he's got a Robin, and if he's missing teeth, I'm missing my pants! ---- (Robin turns to Lily after the fight) Robin: Marshall looks good, has he lost weight? Lily: Bitch don't even... ---- Marshall: You know what, Doug, I will gladly pay. And you know why? Cause that's what grown-ups do! They pay for their drinks and they don't get into fights. You know what I was doing while you guys were out there being immature? I tell you what I was doing... Barney: ...your nails?! Marshall: Hahaha, NO, I was doing... Ted: ...a relationship-quiz in this month's Cosmo?! Marshall: NO, I was doing... Barney: Your best not to cry when Big came back for Carrie at the end of the Sex and the City movie?! ---- (Lily breaks up a fight between two of her kindergarten children) Lily: Okay, okay, okay, stop fighting. Kid 1: Why? Lily: Because it's stupid and juvenile. Kid 2: We're six; we are stupid and juvenile! Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *In the episode , Marshall is afraid of getting into a fight with a man who seems to be hitting on Lily because he has never been in a fight before. However, in this episode he continually tells the gang that he's been in plenty of fights before (with his brothers). *When recounting his prior physical encounters, Ted claims he's been hit once, in . However, in , he was robbed and, while the robbing was not shown, afterwards when talking to the police he had a black eye, and in , Natalie attacked him with her Krav Maga skills. *In Cupcake, Marshall says he's "not much of a fighter", however, this episode shows him to be a proficient and capable fighter. Allusions and Outside References *Before going out into the alley to fight, Ted says "It's clobberin' time," referencing the catch phrase of comic book character The Thing from The Fantastic Four. *The scene where Marshall is actively brawling with his brothers (especially the angle of his punching shot) is reminiscent of the brawling scenes from the movie Fight Club. It is also discussed in the Eriksen's Fight Club featurette in the Season 4 DVD set. Similarly Barney punching himself and then Ted is reminiscent of the main character's first fight with Tyler in 'Fight Club'. *Barney uses the names of sitcoms that focused on African-Americans from the 1970s and 1980s to fake a conversation, specifically using Good Times, Gimme a Break!, What's Happening!!, Diff'rent Strokes and What's Happening Now!!. *At the end of the episode Marshall uses a lightsaber to carve the turkey, referencing Star Wars. *Marshall makes fun of Barney for getting a mani-pedi "once a month", to which Barney makes a correction replying, "Weekly, Wolverine. Some of us care." Wolverine is one of the superheroes in the Marvel Comics series X-Men, and one of Wolverine's most distinguishable characteristics is his retractable claws. Music *Murder Train by the Foreskins (previously heard in ). Other Notes *The German episode title is "Weicheier", meaning "Sissies". The French episode title is "Le combat des Braves", meaning "Battle of the Brave". *International Airdates: Australia: March 9, 2009 on Channel 7; Germany: January 2, 2010 on ProSieben; United Kingdom: February 11, 2010 on E4. Guests *Will Sasso - Doug Martin Reception Donna Bowman of the The AV Club rated the episode B+.http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-fight,13419/ Michelle Zoromski of IGN rated the episode 8.2 out of 10.http://au.tv.ign.com/articles/937/937083p1.html Television Without Pity gave the episode a rating A.http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/the_fight_1_1.php References External links * * * Category:Episodes Category:Season 4